Bill Text: NY A05201 | 2013-2014 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Relates to increasing penalties for violations relating to residential care programs for adults and children; and amends provisions relating to determination of violations.
Spectrum: Strong Partisan Bill (Democrat 11-1)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2014-01-08 - referred to health [A05201 Detail]
Download: New_York-2013-A05201-Introduced.html
S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K ________________________________________________________________________ 5201 2013-2014 Regular Sessions I N A S S E M B L Y February 21, 2013 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. GOTTFRIED, GUNTHER, COLTON, JAFFEE, LIFTON, ENGLEBRIGHT -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. ARROYO, PAULIN -- read once and referred to the Committee on Health AN ACT to amend the social services law, in relation to penalties for violations relating to residential care programs for adults THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM- BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: 1 Section 1. Subdivision 7 and paragraphs (a) and (b) of subdivision 9 2 of section 460-d of the social services law, subdivision 7 as added by 3 chapter 669 of the laws of 1977, paragraph (a) of subdivision 7 as 4 amended by chapter 719 of the laws of 1989, paragraph (b) of subdivision 5 7 as amended by chapter 524 of the laws of 1984, subparagraph 2 of para- 6 graph (b) of subdivision 7 as amended by chapter 733 of the laws of 7 1994, paragraph (a) of subdivision 9 as amended by chapter 558 of the 8 laws of 1999 and paragraph (b) of subdivision 9 as added by chapter 848 9 of the laws of 1992, are amended to read as follows: 10 7. (a) The department shall adopt regulations establishing civil 11 penalties of up to [one] FIVE thousand dollars PER VIOLATION per day to 12 be assessed against all adult care facilities except facilities operated 13 by a social services district for violations of (i) regulations of the 14 department pertaining to the care of residents in such facilities, (ii) 15 paragraph (a) of subdivision three of section four hundred sixty-one-a 16 of this [chapter] ARTICLE, or (iii) an order issued pursuant to subdivi- 17 sion eight of this section. The regulations shall specify the violations 18 subject to penalty and the amount of the penalty to be assessed in 19 connection with each such violation and shall specify that only civil 20 penalties of up to [one] FIVE thousand dollars PER VIOLATION per day 21 [per violation] shall be assessed pursuant to this paragraph against an 22 adult care facility found responsible for an act of retaliation or 23 reprisal against any resident, employee, or other person for having 24 filed a complaint with or having provided information to any long term EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD01610-01-3 A. 5201 2 1 care [patient] ombudsman functioning in accordance with section [five 2 hundred forty-four or five hundred forty-five] TWO HUNDRED EIGHTEEN of 3 the [executive] ELDER law. 4 (b) [(1)] In addition to any other civil or criminal penalty provided 5 by law, the department shall have the power to assess civil penalties in 6 accordance with its regulations adopted pursuant to paragraph (a) of 7 this subdivision, after a hearing conducted in accordance with the 8 procedures established by regulations of the department. Such procedures 9 shall require that notice of the time and place of the hearing, together 10 with a statement of charges of violations, shall be served in person or 11 by certified mail addressed to the facility at least thirty days prior 12 to the date of the hearing. The statement of charges of violations shall 13 set forth the existence of the violations, the amount of penalty for 14 which it may become liable and the steps which must be taken to rectify 15 the violation and, where applicable, a statement that the department 16 contends that a penalty may be imposed under this paragraph regardless 17 of rectification. An answer to the charges of violations, in writing, 18 shall be filed with the department, not less than ten days prior to the 19 date of hearing. The answer shall notify the department of the facili- 20 ty's position with respect to each of the charges and shall include all 21 matters which if not disclosed in the answer would be likely to take the 22 department by surprise. The commissioner, or a member of his staff who 23 is designated and authorized by him to hold such hearing, may in his 24 discretion allow the facility to prove any matter not included in the 25 answer. 26 (C) Where the facility satisfactorily demonstrates that it either had 27 rectified the violations within thirty days of receiving CERTIFIED writ- 28 ten notification of the results of the inspection pursuant to section 29 four hundred sixty-one-a of this [chapter] ARTICLE, or had submitted 30 within thirty days an acceptable plan for rectification and was rectify- 31 ing the violations in accordance with the steps and within the addi- 32 tional periods of time as accepted by the department in such plan, [no] 33 THE DEPARTMENT MAY DETERMINE THAT THE penalty UNDER THIS SECTION shall 34 be REDUCED FROM WHAT OTHERWISE WOULD BE imposed[, except as provided in 35 subparagraph two of this paragraph. 36 (2) Rectification shall not preclude the assessment of a penalty if 37 the department establishes at a hearing that] OR WAIVED. IN MAKING A 38 DETERMINATION UNDER THIS PARAGRAPH, THE DEPARTMENT SHALL CONSIDER: 39 (I) WHETHER a particular violation[, although corrected,] endangered 40 or resulted in harm to any resident [as the result of: 41 (i)], IN WHICH CASE THE PENALTY SHALL NOT BE REDUCED OR WAIVED. ENDAN- 42 GERMENT IS DEFINED AS: 43 (A) the total or substantial failure of the facility's fire detection 44 or prevention systems, or emergency evacuation procedures prescribed by 45 department safety standard regulations; 46 [(ii)] (B) the retention of any resident who has been evaluated by the 47 resident's physician as being medically or mentally unsuited for care in 48 the facility or as requiring placement in a hospital or residential 49 health care facility and for whom the operator is not making persistent 50 efforts to secure appropriate placement; 51 [(iii)] (C) the failure in systemic practices and procedures; 52 [(iv)] (D) the failure of the operator to take actions as required by 53 department regulations in the event of a resident's illness or accident; 54 [(v)] (E) the failure of the operator to provide at all times super- 55 vision of residents by numbers of staff at least equivalent to the night 56 staffing requirement set forth in department regulations; or A. 5201 3 1 [(vi)] (F) unreasonable threats of retaliation or taking reprisals, 2 including but not limited to unreasonable threats of eviction or hospi- 3 talization against any resident, employee or other person who makes a 4 complaint concerning the operation of an adult care facility, partic- 5 ipates in the investigation of a complaint or is the subject of an 6 action identified in a complaint. 7 The department shall specify in its regulations those [regulations] 8 VIOLATIONS to which this [subparagraph two] PARAGRAPH shall apply[. 9 (3) In assessing penalties pursuant to this paragraph, the department 10 shall consider promptness]; 11 (II) WHETHER A PARTICULAR VIOLATION IS ONE OF THE FOLLOWING: 12 (A) A VIOLATION WHEREIN HARM, SHORT OF ENDANGERMENT AS DEFINED IN 13 SUBPARAGRAPH (I) OF THIS PARAGRAPH, WAS ACTUALLY COMMITTED; 14 (B) A VIOLATION WHEREIN A RESIDENT OR RESIDENTS WERE PUT AT RISK OF 15 HARM; OR 16 (C) A VIOLATION WHEREIN A RESIDENT WAS NEITHER HARMED NOR PUT AT RISK 17 OF HARM; 18 (III) THE FACILITY'S HISTORY OF PROVIDING QUALITY CARE, VIOLATIONS; 19 AND 20 (IV) PROMPTNESS of rectification, delay occasioned by the department, 21 and the specific circumstances of the violations as mitigating factors. 22 [(c)] (D) Upon the request of the department, the attorney general may 23 commence an action in any court of competent jurisdiction against any 24 facility subject to the provisions of this section, and against any 25 person or corporation operating such facility, for the recovery of any 26 penalty assessed by the department in accordance with the provisions of 27 this subdivision. 28 [(d)] (E) Any such penalty assessed by the department may be released 29 or compromised by the department before the matter has been referred to 30 the attorney general, and where such matter has been referred to the 31 attorney general, any such penalty may be released or compromised and 32 any action commenced to recover the same may be settled and discontinued 33 by the attorney general with the consent of the department. 34 (a) The department shall have authority to impose a civil penalty not 35 exceeding [one] FIVE thousand dollars PER VIOLATION per day against, and 36 to issue an order requiring the closing of, after notice and opportunity 37 to be heard, any facility which does not possess a valid operating 38 certificate issued by the department and is an adult care facility 39 subject to the provisions of this article and the regulations of the 40 department. A hearing shall be conducted in accordance with procedures 41 established by department regulations which procedures shall require 42 that notice of the determination that the facility is an adult care 43 facility and the reasons for such determination and notice of the time 44 and place of the hearing be served in person on the operator, owner or 45 prime lessor, if any, or by certified mail, return receipt requested, 46 addressed to such person and received at least twenty days prior to the 47 date of the hearing. If such operator, owner or prime lessor, if any, is 48 not known to the department, then service may be made by posting a copy 49 thereof in a conspicuous place within the facility or by sending a copy 50 thereof by certified mail, return receipt requested, addressed to the 51 facility. A written answer to the notice of violation may be filed with 52 the department not less than five days prior to the date of the hearing. 53 Demonstration by the facility that it possessed an operating certificate 54 issued pursuant to this article, article twenty-eight of the public 55 health law or article sixteen, [twenty-three,] thirty-one or thirty-two 56 of the mental hygiene law at the time the hearing was commenced shall A. 5201 4 1 constitute a complete defense to any charges made pursuant to this 2 subdivision. 3 (b) [The penalty authorized by this section shall begin to run thirty 4 days after the department provides the operator, in writing, with a 5 summary of the inspection of the facility by which the department deter- 6 mined that he or she is operating an uncertified adult care facility.] 7 The submission of an application by the operator for an operating 8 certificate for the facility shall not act as a bar to the imposition of 9 a penalty against the operator OF AN UNLICENSED ADULT CARE FACILITY. 10 S 2. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall 11 have become a law; provided that any rules and regulations, and any 12 other actions necessary to implement the provisions of this act on its 13 effective date are authorized and directed to be completed on or before 14 such date.